labor doula

Labor/birth doulas are labor support persons who attend to the emotional and physical comfort needs of laboring women. Doulas do not perform clinical tasks such as heart rate monitoring or vaginal exams but rather use massage, positioning and visualizations, to help labor to progress as comfortably as possible. A labor/birth doula joins a laboring woman either at her home, birth center, or hospital and remains with her until a few hours after the birth of her baby. Some doulas offer several prenatal visits, phone support, and postpartum meetings. The terms of a labor/birth doula’s responsibilities are decided between the doula and the family.

Following is a list of services provided in our Standard Birth Doula Package. Packages can be custom made, based on a family’s needs and desires.

- Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for phone support and consultation.

- On-call services 2 weeks before your due date until the time you give birth.

- Three prenatal visits, at least one hour in length, to discuss and plan for your birth. This typically includes a discussion of your hopes and expectations of your birthing experience, assistance with creating your birth plan, a baby care class, and a review of common challenges during postpartum. We will structure this time to meet your needs.

- Birth support beginning whenever you need it: in your home, at the hospital, or birth center.

- Continuous informational, emotional, and physical support from the time your labor begins until your baby is born. We can incorporate yoga, massage, aromatherpy, visualization, and expertise in movement during your labor.

- One to two hours of immediate postpartum support to assist with the initial transition and breastfeeding.

- Suggestions for helpful resources locally, on line, and at the library or book store, to aid you in making informed choices surrounding your pregnancy, birth, and parenting. This includes online and real life support groups and playgroups.

- One postpartum visit within one week of the birth in your home and one six week postpartum visit in our office.

In addition to emotional, physical and informational support, doulas typically act as advocates of their client’s wishes and may assist in communicating with medical staff to obtain information for the client to make informed decisions regarding medical procedures.